Float Pod, Round 2!

 Last night I had my second float therapy at Crystal Waters Float Spa. I had been told that the second float is much different than the first, usually better. You already know what to expect and you can turn your mind off more easily since being in the pod isn't so new this time around. This seemed like the perfect week for a float after the extra frustrating experience at a car dealership, having had hip and shoulder pain, and just feeling like I could use all the relaxation I could find and call my own.

I will say first that I should not have drank that latte at 2pm. My appointment wasn't until 6pm, but I sipped on it for over an hour I'm sure and I seem to be more sensitive to caffeine lately. It didn't ruin the experience, but I always hope to doze off in the pod and that just wasn't happening.

This time I chose their new "astral projection" music. The owner (who is just a spectacular guy) offered to play it during the duration of the float instead of only the first five minutes. The music was amazing. If I was still, I could easily imagine myself floating somewhere in the middle of the universe. This time I was going to float for 90 minutes. That is 30 minutes longer than my first float. There was something different about floating at night. It was already dark outside when I arrived. I liked it better that way. Last time, leaving the shop and entering back into the non floating world was more intense. There was daylight, and noise, and cars everywhere. This time it was dark, quiet, and less hussle bussle around town.

So here I go. I got ready for shampoo and soap shower. They don't skimp here, the dispenser is filled with wonderful aromatic soap that feels like silk on your skin. I got my earplugs in and got all cleaned up for pod time. The temperature is color coded. Green is warm, red is much warmer and when red begins to flash, it will probably burn you. Makes it simplistic to get your shower temperature just right, which I appreciate.

It's pod time! The color changing light inside can be turned on and off at any time. I kept it on just for a minute or two and then shut it off. I prefer the darkness. Even having the music on the whole time was almost distracting. Darkness and silence together would be much more sensory deprived, but I thought I would try out the music this time around. I love the shower, but my favorite pre-float task is probably turning my phone to silent. There is a sense of freedom in turning your phone off knowing that no one can interrupt your time. 

During my first float I moved around a lot in the beginning, being more still toward the end. This time I got into the water and was immediately still. The music was perfect and the temperature was comforting. At one point I felt like I was in a giant cupped hand, being suspended in the air. Everything is comfortable, warm, and still. Then my caffeine thoughts came rushing in. I found it challenging this time to turn my mind off. Maybe it was the latte, maybe it was just my busy mind and I felt I had the space to go through all of these thoughts. Despite my racing thoughts I fully enjoyed myself for 90 minutes.

I found myself thinking about my stepdaughter and the current situation we are in with her. I then made the conscious decision to put it out of my mind. It is the prime example of "letting go". Certain things are out of our control and there is not much we can do to change them. Even through hurt, pain, and confusion, we have to find a way to move on. You can still love and you can still hurt and I am huge advocate of feeling your feelings, but your mind needs to take the healthy step to move forward and not become stagnant. 

I thought about my daughter, and how I think she needs more of my time. I thought about all of my children, but not as my children. I thought of them as the individuals that they are and who they might become. I close friend of mine has said in conversation before that our children do not belong to us, they are not ours. They are their own and we are with them right now to guide them. I think about her words often in regard to motherhood, but I always had a hard time releasing that territorial feeling about them. I could see it now though, in these thoughts. I am here to love them and guide them and then let them go. They might stay close to me or they may go far, geographically and emotionally. I felt at that moment I was letting go of expectation. My only expectation was that I will continue to love them, always. They belong to the universe and themselves.

I thought about how I feel lost. I genuinely feel lost since moving, but in a good way. I have felt lost before in a negative way and it was rough but worth it to get through. This is different. I am lost and overjoyed that I have the freedom to find myself. I have time and space. I am not bogged down by busy schedules that I complain about but happen by my own doing. I am not lost in anything, I am not lost in motherhood, or being a wife. I am not lost in a career or friendships. It's just me. I am here in a new place and have the freedom to find things in myself and about myself. It's peaceful and quiet for the most part and I hardly even use my planner. Anyone who knows me well knows that that is a big deal. I don't have much to write in it, but yet I feel like I am doing more. That is another blog post, doing less being more. 

As the water became more still after I was done stretching. Funny thing about the stretching. You float so well in all that Epsom salt that it is effortless. I float there doing these bends and stretches with my naked body. I think about how it feels so damn graceful and artistic. Then I smile thinking about how it probably looks like one of those posts that say "nailed it", because it is far from graceful LOL! I mean who knows, but I like the way it looks in my mind and that's all that matters. 

I realized I had lost the concept of time (which is wonderful in of itself), I laid there on the water feeling so small in best way. It was just little me in a pod with my thoughts and the entire universe around me. There was no worry just wonder. There was no stress just content. That to me is the art relaxation, to rid worry and stress and just be. Not being who you think you need to be, just be. Just be with you and who you are. No clothes, no agenda, no expectations.

A memory came to mind of when I was in high school. It was a weekend and my friend Sara was over. My dad was super moody. He was so moody that we were laughing at him at times while sitting in my bedroom. I started feeling mad at him for being so moody. I made a bowl of ice cream that was basically a gallon of ice cream in a huge bowl. Sara and I were laughing about the ice cream and I'm willing to bet our joy made my dad more moody. That's right, he was super moody. I had forgotten. It got me thinking about how moody I have been lately, or maybe forever, I don't know. I thought about how my daughter sometimes laughs at my moodiness and I get mad. I thought about how moody my son can be. It is all the same moody. Where any and everything makes you feel pissy. The moody where you should probably just be alone for a little while. So I will work on my mood, to avoid it, or find a way to come to terms with it and then I can help my son do the same. Negative mood is like smoke, it just swirls around, slowly taking up all of the space. Everyone around is affected by it. 

I then played around in the water a while and went for some stillness again. I heard the pump kick on and I felt accomplished that I had floated for 90 minutes. I took that wonderful shower and procrastinated taking my ear plugs out. It's almost frightening to take them out. Like a newborn baby being born into all the noise and the chaos. The post float makes for a nice transition. I enjoy that the owner likes to sit with you and chat. He pours you tea and gives you a cookie. He has a way with small talk that makes it not feel like small talk. It is genuine and it flows. He shares about himself and you feel that you could really cover any topic with him. He's calm and honest. It's refreshing. 

Let's talk about results. Besides leaving the spa feeling relaxed, mind and body, I had THE BEST sleep of my life last night. No hip or shoulder pain when I rolled over. Did I even roll over? I did not wake up one single time. I slept solid and sweet all night long. This is usually my biggest problem, I wake up several times a night. I usually can fall right back asleep, but the sleep is so disrupted it affects my day. Unfortunately, I woke up with a sore throat, not from the spa obviously, but I have caught whatever is going around. Which makes me think about how a few times during floating, my head started to feel  heavy and full of pressure, maybe that was a little hint of the cold coming on. Even waking up sick, I felt amazing. I was well rested and that is so valuable.

Looking forward to float number 3!

All the love, 

Caffeine and Freckles

My first time in a float pod

If you have thought about floating, you should do it. If you haven't thought about floating, you should think about it. If you have never heard of floating, you should learn about it and think about getting your float on.

As a Christmas gift, I received a gift certificate for four float sessions at a local float spa in our town, Tooele, UT. I had been looking into it for a while and had even taken a little tour of the spa to see what it was all about. Float therapy is not new, however the fact that it is becoming more popular is new. The Golden State Warriors floated regularly throughout their season, many MMS fighters float before and after a fight, the list is getting longer of the many people who find it helpful to float.

I completely forgot to take any photos as I was preoccupied with excitement. I plan on snapping a few on my next float.

Here is a photo of the dream pod.

What is float therapy? There are many names for it. You might here float session, float pod, float tank, sensory deprivation tank, and so on. They use around 1,200 lbs of magnesium sulfate (epsom salt) dissolved in 200 gallons of water. You are in a zero gravity therapeutic environment with no distractions. The magnesium helps you to float and also absorbs into your body offering you a long list of health benefits. 

Some of the symptoms or ailments that floating can help with are:

Depression

Anxiety

Fibromyalgia

Stress 

Aid in the healing of injuries

Back pain

Joint pain

High blood pressure

Accident injuries

Trouble sleeping

and much more. 

Besides the physical benefits, imagine how healthy it would be for your mind and soul to be with yourself for an hour in a pod full of skin temperature water. The idea is that typically after 40 minutes in, your brain will release theta waives. Those are the waves we enjoy right before drifting off to sleep.

Here is a video full of the details.

I couldn't wait to get in that pod! I imagined a meditative state like never before. I imagined all the strange thoughts that would go in and out of my mind before I was able to shut it off and relax. I imagined that my body would feel wonderful after wards.

I figured I should wear my sweats, since you shower before and after entering the pod. May as well be cozy after wards, right? Then I felt like a bum, so I changed into jeans. I will NOT be doing this next time. You learn a lot from your first float. When you are done, you don't want to be tied down by restrictive clothing. It will be cozy clothes next float.

The owner gave me a run through of what do and when. He showed me the shower in my float room, I was to use soap and shampoo only, and put my ear plugs in before. Then I was to turn the lights off and step into the pod. Inside the pod, there is a soft light that changes color. You can choose to keep it on one color, let it change, or turn it off completely. He would be starting my float with relaxing music the first five minutes and then it would return the last five minutes. When the pump kicks on, that will be how I know my float is over and can shower and condition and meet over at the post float area for tea.

While listening to his instruction, I immediately became worried that I would not retain all the information he was giving me, which in fact I did not, because I was thinking about that instead of listening. 

I took one of the best showers ever under the 8 inch wide shower head lathered in silky soap. I was thinking in the shower what a great affect the ear plugs had just in the shower. It really makes you feel inside of yourself. 

Into the pod! It was the perfect temperature, matching my body. I pulled the lid shut and began to float. There is at least three feet I would say, of space about your head, so I did not feel confined or claustrophobic. I floated there, waiting for the music to start. I didn't know it then, but the delay in music was because I forgot to turn the lights off! I'd say for about what felt like 20 minutes in, I forgot about the lights. I even floated there thinking, "Wow, you sure would think they would make it a little darker in here" not realizing I had forgot that step, because I was too busy worrying that I would forget a step. When it finally occurred to me, I got out and shut the lights off.

Now lets get to those moments when you are just floating there, no music, no light, no sound. So many things went through my head. I actually tried to think about certain current stresses so that I could consciously push them out, but I just couldn't it. They had no affect on me in that pod. They came to mind and I had no feelings about them. I guess I just couldn't allow myself to waste precious pod time on stressful things. I thought about how my scalp was burning, a lot. 

I thought about how I was so naked but yet didn't feel naked at all. I thought about how wearing a swim suit would totally ruin it for me. Part of the goal was to not even be aware of your body any longer, and how could I do that with clothes clinging to me? If I'm getting into a pod to float, why not take it back to womb status? I wanted to be held in there while I grow! I thought about how I should have chosen the ocean music, because the music that was on felt a little anticipatory, like Native American drums, like something was about to happen. I thought about how I hoped I would fall asleep.  I thought about how I think I'm not a huge fan of Target. I like it, but I think I have tried to love it, and it just doesn't excite me all that much like it does so many other people. I have no issue with Target, I'm just not in love. Then I realized that is probably why I keep getting the cartwheel app and then deleting. I think I've had it like five times now. I thought about my burning scalp again (this did stoop after a while). I thought about how the light bothered me a little, but still took me forever to realize I had left the lights on in the room.

I floated. Slow and steady. One side of me or another would gently bump the side of the pod and then I float towards the opposite direction. Then it felt like I was floating in a river, going one direction, but I never bumped the side so I couldn't have been moving. Then everything became still. The water wasn't moving, I wasn't moving. I wasn't aware of the confines of the pod any longer. I wasn't even aware of my body. It felt as if I was floating out in the open universe. I felt nothing and it felt open and free. I wasn't my body and my body wasn't me. The body and mind were two different things, but the body wasn't even there! Then I was dreaming vividly about my son being a twin (which he is not) and both of him had a face full of hair, and then "SPLASH!". My hand must have flinched because the splash startled me awake. I felt pleased to have realized I had slept. I did not have a good perception of time in the pod, which is great. We have enough pressure and stress in relation to time, don't we? My phone was off, and the time was not for me to worry about. 

After that little nap I got a little antsy. I was still enjoying every moment, just had a harder time being so still. My knees started to feel stiff, like they needed to bend. I wanted my scarred leg to be immersed in the magnesium water so I bent my knee as high as I could to the side, then the other so that they were both pointing the same direction. This made me float in a slow circular motion. Not enough to make you feel sick, but it was noticeable. Then I tried the other direction. So I guess I started playing a little bit. One thing I noticed when I pulled my body to the side like that, was that it was as if my organs were shifting as I moved to the side. It reminded me of being eight months pregnant, feeling the baby shift with you as move onto your side. The rest of my body was so relaxed as if not even there. It really put the focus on my insides, the gut area. 

There was one point where I felt scared, for no real reason. I felt like someone was coming, or something was in there with me and when I opened my eyes the light happened to be on red mode, which added to the fear factor. I knew it wasn't actual fear, but just a weird feeling that crept up being in a new place, being naked, and being closed in a small area. It didn't last long. I shut off the colored lights and closed my eyes again to get back to me. 

I found peace again and floated in the dark. I don't believe I fell asleep again, but I floated and was able to turn my mind off. The pumped kicked on and it was time to get out. I was curious as to how I would feel when I got out, but I was a little bummed that I actually had to get out. I felt hesitant. I didn't really want to leave my pod. It was warm and quiet in there! It wasn't going to be like this on the outside. I took my post float shower and conditioned my hair. As I was toweling my hair dry, my right ear plug came loose. It was like a rush of noise! It sounded like loud traffic or windy weather. It sounded like chaos and it made me want to jump back in the pod! It was actually the sound of the pump and the sound of it not being so peacefully quiet anymore. It sounded like or loud lives.

I got dressed, wishing I had my sweats to put on. I went to the post float area for my tea where the owner was talking to a man who had just finished floating. Something I loved was seeing so many different types of people who came in to float. Ripped gym-rats, men over 70 years old, country dudes who have a little twang in there spoke, so many types of people that float for so many different reasons. They all love it. 

I ended up getting two cups of tea deep while talking to the owner for a good hour in the post float area. Super great guy. When I left he walked me out and said "be safe". I'm sure he meant driving or for New Year's, but as soon as I stepped outside I felt like he was saying to be safe in the world, outside of the pod. It was cold and noisy and I had to cross a semi busy street with no crosswalk. I got to my car and just sat for a minute. I felt different. I felt lighter. My hip wasn't sore at all and it had been aching terribly for three days. I started driving towards home but I had a few stops to make. It felt strange to get out and go into stores, like I wasn't a pat of it. I did, however, feel balanced. Like when you get your tires rotated and it feels so smooth and balanced when you drive it right after wards. I felt calm and peaceful. I felt content. I felt like not much could frustrate me. 

I went home to my family and continued to feel this way. That night I had one of the best nights of sleep I have had in a long time. I still woke up several times, but I usually wake up with some sort of achy pain. Whatever I had been laying on aches when I wake up, whether it be a shoulder, a hip, some sort of pain. Any time I woke up I was pleased to find I had no pain. My pillows felt like clouds and my bed felt like a hug. I slept well. My hip hurt from the cold today, but not in the achy way it had the days before. It had been a deep ache and now it was only the area where the screws are.

The owner told me that the first float is usually the worst and that it gets better and better each time as you become more aware of how to relax deeper with each session. My float wasn't bad, but forgetting the lights and just it being new, I can already see ways it can improve. 

I would HIGHLY recommend trying a float spa near you. Whether it is to help with an issue, or just get some down time to relax, it can only help. 

Crystal Waters Float Spa was perfect. The owners and employees are fabulously friendly. There is a calmness about them that makes the whole experience even better. The little touches like serving tea and cookies afterwards makes it personal. They offer Chinese Cupping, waxing, facials, and more. They have a network of people for many spiritual and mental health needs in the homeopathic and alternative medicine realm. Wonderful spa!

I'm looking forward to float number two as I'm sure it will be even better.

All the love, 

Caffeine and Freckles